HAVING been out of the lime-light now for three years since demitting Office in 2011, and in defence of his legacy during that tenure in office, former President Bharrat Jagdeo has accused senior members of the political Opposition of open corruption and criminality.Jagdeo held a press engagement this week’s at his party’s Freedom House headquarters and lambasted the leadership of the Alliance For Change (AFC) calling on them to make public their declarations of assets and incomes, if they now want to accede to public office.
Jagdeo told media operatives that while he is being accused of having a tarnished legacy plagued by allegations and corruption, it is in fact persons such as the AFC’s co-founders Khemraj Ramjattan, Raphael Trotman, Cathy Hughes, Nigel Hughes whom he is accusing of open corruption.
Jagdeo during his interaction with the local media corps said Ramjattan had wanted to use public money for private gain which is tantamount to corruption.
He was making reference to the debacle surrounding the issuance of a contract for the building of the Specialty Hospital.
Ramjattan had acted as Attorney for one of the unsuccessful bidders, Jadgeo reminded.
The former president said too that when Robert Badal, the Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Pegasus was Ramjattan’s client, “they tried to block the Marriott [Hotel].”
The former president has since surmised the only beneficiary of blocking the Marriott is Badal and that “Ramjattan again in that conflict of interest.”
Jagdeo said too he has noticed the criticisms that surrounded the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Plant and the accompanying road.
He said Makeswhar “Fip” Motilall, of Synergy Holdings Inc, had at the time submitted the lowest tender to build the road.
According to the Former President, the only other people that benefited financially from the projects were Cathy and Nigel Hughes.
He reminded the media that Cathy Hughes had acted as the Public Relations Officer for Sithe Global, the developers of the project, while her husband Nigel was in fact the company secretary.
“If anyone made money off hydro[it] was them,” said Jagdeo.
Speaking to the matter of accountability, Jagdeo said that it was under his tenure that saw Constitutional Reform, causing the Auditor General to submit Annual Reports directly to the National Assembly.
“We had in my tenure,” new procurement laws. He spoke too to the introduction of the Integrated Financial Management Accounting System.
This he said is in addition to the submission of regular reports declaring assets and incomes to the Integrity Commission, something the leadership of the political Opposition has failed to do.
“I did when I was there, the only people who refused have been some of the Opposition leaders,’
The former President suggested Ramjattan and the others in the AFC leadership be made to submit their declarations.
Such declarations, according to Jagdeo, would tell a shocking story and pointed to the level of taxes that are usually paid by attorneys.
“When they did a broad category of lawyers paying taxes, the maximum paid was a few million dollars,” according to Jagdeo and said “but if they seeking public office and so clean and value accountability so much, why not make public declarations to the Guyana Revenue Authority?”
The former President also suggested that they be asked “how much money they receive from blocking the anti-money laundering bill.”
Jagdeo reminded that the international community had urged the political Opposition to approve the recommended amendments “and they block it…who are the beneficiary only the drug dealers and money launderers.”
The former President said too that while he could not confirm the veracity of the allegation repeated to him, he was informed that the man recently executed in Agricola was going to come forward to say what he knew about where millions of dollars from a robbery went.
Gladstone George, the man who was shot twice to the head last week Thursday, has since been linked to the $42M Post Office robbery.
According to the former head of state, the political opposition has been expending huge amounts on its campaign and suggests, “Maybe some of their paraphernalia came from those sources.”
Jagdeo said he was informed that the now executed man “was willing to make a statement about where the money went….he was prepared to say he gave [the] Opposition a lot of money.”
He did caution that he didn’t know if the allegation was true “but we in a period where rumours can be elevated to fact, maybe [it] is time we start exploring some of these things.”